1932 Sunbeam 20hp, 23.8 hp, 3,317 cc. Registration number TF...

Hammer

£8,500

1932 Sunbeam 20hp, 23.8 hp, 3,317 cc. Registration number TF 6782. Chassis number 7017P. Engine number 7020P.
The Sunbeam name had been registered by John Marston in 1888 for his bicycle manufacturing business. Sunbeam motor car manufacture began in 1901 and the motor business was sold to a newly incorporated Sunbeam Motor Car Company Limited in 1905 to separate it from Marston's pedal bicycle business; Sunbeam motorcycles were not made until 1912.
It first came to prominence following the appointment of Louis Coatalen as chief engineer in 1909 and Coatalen designed cars were soon setting new records at Brooklands race track in Surrey. In 1912 the 3 litre Sunbeams caused a sensation when they came 1st, 2nd and 3rd in Coupe de l’Auto for touring cars run at Dieppe. So good they were that they achieved 3rd, 4th, and 5th places in the French Grand Prix run concurrently. The cars which finished 1st and 2nd achieved their places with as it’s superbly made products enjoying a reputation rivalling that of the best from Alvis and Bentley.
In June 1920 the French company Darracq bought Sunbeam, they had already bought Clément-Talbot in 1919 and they retained their separate identities.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunbeam_Motor_Car_Company - cite_note-TT43596-15 The Sunbeam car would continue to be made at Moorfield Works, Wolverhampton, the Talbot in North Kensington and the Darracq at Suresnes with central buying, selling, administration and advertising departments with S T D in Britain. On 13 August 1920 Darracq changed its name to S T D Motors Limited; the initials represented Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq. Unfortunately the group was badly mismanaged. It failed to rationalise engines which were 3 and 5 times the size of the Sunbeams. The almost identical touring model sold very well as a result its model range so that, at double the development cost, its own cars were often competing against each other for sales. The Sunbeam 16 and Talbot 14/45 for example were fairly similar cars aimed at the same market. Not only this, but there was virtually no standardisation or interchangeability of parts within the group which would have reduced costs.
Following the Wall Street Crash of 1929, the depression of the 1930s set in and when in 1935 a large loan, taken out ten years earlier, could not be repaid, STD Motors went into receivership. The Rootes Group outbid the fledgling Jaguar Company and bought Sunbeam and Talbot. Both plants were closed and Rootes merely used the name to sell cheaper, badge engineered Hillmans.
Introduced for 1927 and priced from £750 upwards, the first 20hp Sunbeam was powered by a 2,916cc six-cylinder engine and enjoyed a production life of just three years. For 1931 the 20hp was given the new 23.8hp, 3.3 litre engine having 7 main bearings. In all other respects the car was much the same as the previous year’s model. For 1932 a number of changes were made. The model was given hydraulic brakes, twin-top gearbox and built-in thermostatically controlled radiator shutters with a price tag of £795.
TF 6782 left the factory on the 3rd November 1931 and was first registered two days later on the 5th November in Lancashire as a ¾ Coupe. It would have cost £795. By 1957 it was with W. Templer of Colwyn Bay and then had a succession of owners, May 1958 A.G. Charles, October 1959 M.J.R. Banner, March 1961 M.J. Grant (he changed the colour from the original claret to green), January 1965 John Roome, December 1966 Richard Lumb, August 1967 Margaret and John Guyatt, Robert Cooper, Roland Buce, Mrs Diack in 1984 and then David Howard Cars of Hampshire. He sold it to our vendor in October 1986 for £11,000, taking a Rover 9 hp tourer in part exchange at £5,000. Howard then sold him a quantity of spare parts, over which there was much heated correspondence!
At this time it was largely original and in running order although the ash frame was in poor condition. He parked it in his barn with the intention of restoring it when he retired. This was not until 1999 when he stripped the car; the ash frame was repaired and replaced where necessary, the original alloy panels were reused and the intention was to return it to the original claret with black wings. A new red leather interior was made for it. The body was then taken off the chassis and stored whilst all the running gear was refurbished, including fitting a new crown wheel and pinion to the diff. Work then commenced on the engine and stalled.
In 2003 David Adams in New Zealand contacted our vendor as he had built a new four seater drophead body on a 1932 20hp chassis (chassis 7127P, engine 7133P), previously owned by his father in the 60’s and was keen to compare notes. The body he built car was modelled on the same body style as TF6782 and hence of special interest to David, who for many years has achieved outstanding success in competitive events. Few of these Sunbeam bodied folding head coupés were built and only one other is known to have survived, a 1933 model.
It now will make a fascinating project for the next owner who knows how to put it back together. Prospective purchasers are directed to assess how many parts are with the car as it had been fully stripped (especially the engine).
With thanks to the STD register for their assistance in cataloguing this rare machine.
Sold with an R.F. 60, a V5, and an MOT from 1986, the purchase receipt, the V5C and the history folder.